Microsoft has launched the Xbox One X in India a few months after its global launch. The new gaming console will be available at a price of Rs. 44990 and will go on sale via Flipkart and Amazon. The Xbox One X will also be available to buy from select offline retail stores like Landmark and Croma.
Each Xbox One X will ship with a 14-day Xbox Live Gold trial along with a month of Xbox Game Pass subscription trial. Talking at the launch, Priyadarshi Mohapatra, country general manager, Consumer & Devices Sales, Microsoft India said:
We are delighted to offer gamers the world’s most powerful console with access to the largest and most diverse games lineup in Xbox history, including Forza Motorsport 7, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Cuphead and Super Lucky’s Tale, out of more than 1,300 titles and more than 220 exclusives available on the Xbox One X, just a few short months after the device’s global launch.
The Xbox One X is a mid-cycle Xbox refresh from Microsoft but, has enough horsepower under the hood to grant it the label of being the most powerful gaming console in the world. Since the new console runs on the Scorpio engine, it is backwards compatible to run all 900px and 1080px Xbox one and 360 titles at upscaled 4K. Which means all existing Xbox One titles should look better on the Xbox One X due to enhanced visual fidelity, anisotropic filtering, and faster loading times. The new console will also work with all current Xbox One accessories, Microsoft has confirmed.
Xbox vs PS is the gaming version of iOS vs Android and this debate will not fizzle out anytime soon. The Xbox One X has whopping 6 teraflops of graphical power while the PS4 Pro ships with 4.2 teraflops of graphical power. The Xbox One X also has a built-in UHD Blu-ray drive and although PS4 Pro supports 4K, it does not include a UHD Blu-ray drive. It is worth noting that the PS4 Pro is priced at Rs. 38990.
Microsoft and DJ duo, The Chainsmokers have teamed up for a custom Xbox One S edition that lights up when you play. Microsoft has addressed that this is a part of a larger initiative where the company will team up with more celebrities and brands for custom XBon One S editions. The custom console uses a small, USB-powered processor that converts sound into a changing light show. There are 60 pixels that light and creates what Microsoft says is a 3D effect.
Chainsmokers released a statement in support of the new console expressing their excitement at the opportunity to collaborate with Microsoft.
We were really pumped to work with Xbox on this project and help bring our music to life in a new way, by combining it with the best gaming console in the world. We knew the team would do something amazing, but when we saw the custom Xbox One S for the first time, we were both blown away by how cool the design is.
Aaron Greenberg, GM of Games Marketing at Xbox, stated that throughout the years, he has seen a lot of unique consoles, but nothing quite like this. Greenberg added that the Chainsmokers Xbox One S console “is a true piece of art.”
Microsoft has decided to give away the console. You can try your luck by following The Chainsmokers on Twitter and replying to them with a message about why you like the design of the console. The details about the giveaway contest can be found here.
Getting your hands on one of these custom XBox One S consoles seems is a bit of a stretch, but, the XBox One X will launch in November, which Microsoft claims is the most powerful console it has ever made. The XBox One X will be priced at USD 500 (Rs. 32,000), which is much more than the USD 250 (Rs. 16,000 approx.) price of the XBox One S.
Microsoft has launched its new gaming console, the Xbox One X in June 2017 at the Entertainment Expo. The Xbox One X, Microsoft’s much awaited Project Scorpio is touted to be the world’s first true 4K gaming console. The console will be available to buy in the US from November 7 for $499 (Rs 32,000). At the same time, the company announced a limited period Xbox One X Project Scorpio Edition for consumers who’d prefer a more cosmetically enhanced version of the Xbox One Day One Edition.
The limited edition console, as mentioned earlier, features a slightly more gradient design, and the Project Scorpio code name etched on both the console as well on the controller. Microsoft confirmed that all initial Xbox One X units up for grabs will be a Project Scorpio Edition, and will sell for the same price as the Xbox One Day One Edition.
The Xbox One X is a mid-cycle Xbox refresh from Microsoft but, has enough horsepower under the hood to grant it the label of being the most powerful gaming console in the world when it arrives in November.
Since the new console runs on the Scorpio engine, it is backward compatible to run all 900px and 1080px Xbox one and 360 titles at upscaled 4K. Which means all existing Xbox One titles should look better on the Xbox One X due to enhanced visual fidelity, anisotropic filtering, and faster loading times. The new console will also work with all current Xbox One accessories, Microsoft has confirmed.
4K will largely be the buzzword, all Scorpio-exclusive games will super sample down to 1080p and all Scorpio-exclusive game modes will be available for all users regardless of their display. Technically, players will not require a 4K-ready monitor to use the Xbox One X. The console will use supersampling to improve visuals on 1080p screens while offering true 4K UHD playback on 4K screens.
At the E3 Conference, Microsoft has launched new console dubbed the Xbox One S. Available in a new “robot white” color, the Xbox One S is 40 percent smaller than the original Xbox One.
It also includes a built-in power supply, and now finally can be placed horizontally or vertically with an optional stand.
The new console will have one of the three USB ports and the pairing button to the front of the Xbox One S alongside the newly added IR blaster. There is no more a Kinect port, however, Kinect for Xbox One will still be compatible with Xbox One S via the Xbox Kinect Adapter for USB connection.
Xbox One S will be available in select markets starting early August for $399 USD, with the 1TB Xbox One S for $349 USD and the 500GB Xbox One S for $299 USD arriving thereafter. The Xbox One Vertical Stand will also be available for standalone purchase for $19.99 USD.
2015 has seen some spectacular games for the PlayStation 4. Games that have been hotly anticipated and some games that have just taken the gamers in us all by surprise. So we take a look back at some of the best games for the PlayStation 4 and why they are what they are.
Bloodborne
Bloodborne has to be one of the best games this year hands down. A PlayStation 4 exclusive, Bloodborne was released back in March and has since then earned critical acclaim, as well as selling over 2 million copies as of September 30, making it one of the biggest selling titles ever.
Bloodborne is an incredibly detailed fantasy landscape where even a single misstep can destroy you. The storytelling is as grand as the environment it’s in, with a narrative delivered through things as subtle as the name of an enemy or the description of an item.
The game is played from a third-person perspective, players control a fully customizable protagonist, and gameplay is focused on weapons-based combat and exploration. Players battle beastly and varied enemies, including bosses, using items such as swords and firearms, and journey through the story, exploring the game’s different locations, interacting with non-player characters, collecting key items involved in the story, and discovering and unraveling the world’s many mysteries.
What critics have lauded is the game’s atmosphere, detailed environments, and the overall visuals, the interconnected world design, the design of the characters, particularly that of the enemies, the challenging, fast-paced gameplay, the storyline and lore, and the soundtrack, which some touted as “glorious”.
Yes, you do miss the Joker in this one, brilliantly voiced by Mark Hamill, but all your other voice actors are here. Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman) and John Noble (voice of Scarecrow) give a terrific performance here. The combat and predator system also gets an improvement. Finally, the world of Gotham City never looked more beautiful as it does in Arkham Knight. The city being a natural extension to the characters, deserves praise and the game overall is a fitting end to the Arkham series.
Halo 5: Guardians
Halo 5: Guardians is the fifth title in the Halo series which was released on October 27 for the Xbox One. Producer Josh Holmes stated that the game’s engine employs a “new progressive resolution system that allows us to dynamically scale the resolution at which we render the game” to guarantee it maintains a frame rate of 60 FPS.
Halo 5: Guardians takes place in the year 2558, and is set eight months after the events of Halo 4. The game follows the human fireteams Blue Team and Osiris. The game also sees returning fan-favorite Nathan Fillion as Edward Buck from Halo 3: ODST. You can spot him in the opening scene below.
Halo 5 also has one of the best arsenal in the series, thanks to returning classics and design facelifts for guns that were otherwise ignored. Old favorites like the battle rifle, Spartan laser, and trusty assault rifle look and feel great.
Halo 5 is a looker. The gameplay takes you through an eerie abandoned research station, a backwater planet ripe with odd, gorgeous life and vegetation, ruins with ancient and worn-looking monuments, and several other beautiful locations.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Another game that had extremely high expectations was the fifth instalment to the Metal Gear Solid franchise. The Phantom Pain serves as a sequel to Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, and a continuation of the narrative established there, and a prequel to the original Metal Gear game.
In The Phantom Pain, players take the role of Big Boss, under the nickname Punished “Venom” Snake, in an open world environment. The gameplay elements were largely unchanged from Ground Zeroes, meaning that players will have to sneak from several points in the game world, avoiding enemy guards, and remaining undetected.
The Phantom Pain achieves sheer excellence as an espionage game. The graphics are top notch and the environment is simply spectacular. It’s a game that is deserving of the current-gen console. Check out the launch trailer of The Phantom Pain below to see how the franchise has evolved through the years.
The Phantom Pain was critically acclaimed upon release, with its gameplay drawing praise for featuring a variety of mechanics and interconnected systems which allow a high degree of player freedom in approaching objectives.
Call of Duty
We can never get tired of Call of Duty, can we? The Black Ops segment of the franchise introduced a science fiction turn in Black Ops II that features a future warfare setting with robots and futuristic technology with a separate zombie story line as well. Black Ops III, much like its predecessor, is set in a “dark, twisted future”. The game was released on November 6th on Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Pspqx0XGs
The six-hour story is set in the not-too-distant future. Black Ops 3’s story works on “Direct Neural Interface,” or DNI for short. This technology allows humans to mentally interact with computers, weapons, and other people. What these does is introduce terrific new ways of playing a game that was beginning to fall under the ‘been there, done that’ category. For example, you can’t use enemies’ dropped weapons because they’re registered to someone else’s brain.
The game has been praised for its length and the introduction of new elements that keeps the game fresh.
Over the past couple of weeks a video has surfaced on the Internet featuring an interview of an unnamed developer of the highly anticipated, genre-bending game, the Division. The background of the game is set in a post-apocalyptic New York soon after the outbreak of a catastrophic virus that has decimated the population and destroyed society in just a few days.
This game, which because of its unique game mechanics promises to be unlike any survival fantasy that have come before it, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late. In the above-mentioned interview, the developer with regards to PC version of the game is heard saying, “we do have to kind of keep it in check with the consoles; it would kind of be unfair just to push it so far away from them.”
This confession has been interpreted as a signal of Ubisoft holding back the PC edition of the game in terms of graphics, but today the game studio, Ubisoft Massive has released a statement to deny any such thing.
“It has come to our attention that a comment from one of our team members has been perceived by some members of the community to imply the PC version of The Division was ‘held back’ and this is simply not true. From the beginning, the PC version of The Division was developed from the ground up and we’re confident players will enjoy the game and the features this version has to offer. And the feedback from PC players who participated in the recent closed beta supports this.”
The Division is set to be released in March and recently held a closed beta on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Beta testers largely gave a positive feedback to the game, while also mentioning the that the Xbox One and PC versions resembled each other closely. This again would point out to how the Division could already have been brought to the PC audience with a leash around its neck.
With the Ghostbusters franchise set for a much-awaited reboot this year, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans of the franchise that a video game is also in works which will look to complete the whole Ghostbusters experience for them.
Activision which is the game studio behind the development of this “new Full-fledged Ghostbusters game” will bring the title exclusively to Next-Gen consoles later this year along with the movie launch. Not much is known about the game right now, and there is no information whether the new game will feature the female cast of the new movie, or it will give the chance to old fans of the franchise to go on ghost busting journey with the old team.
But considering the fact that the timing of the movie and the game launch coincide, it can well be expected that this Next-Gen title would feature the new cast as a means to drive up the revenues of both the game and the movie at the time of the launch which is 15th July, 2016.
Treyarch, the developer behind the Call of Duty franchise is doing something different this time around with the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. They are going the Netflix way and will release all campaign missions from the start. What this means is that you can choose to jump right to the final chapter without having to work your way up the game.
Netflix does this with shows like House of Cards and Daredevil, where it releases all the episodes at once. The reason behind Treyarch’s move is that it doesn’t really matter. People can choose to start from the end and reach the beginning, or jump from one level to a totally different one, or go the traditional chronological way. It’s totally up to the gamers.
Jason Blundell, director of the campaign and Zombies mode for Black Ops 3 told Eurogamer that,”It gives them the flexibility to consume the content how they want,” He also added that,”Consumers and game players in general are far more mature these days. There are so many things vying for our interests today. It’s about, how do they want to consume it? Maybe they put it down on level two, and then they’re in work the next day, and some guy says, ‘dude, you’ve got to check out level four!’ And he’s like, ‘okay, I’ll have a quick look.’ That’s totally fine. I think it’s their choice.”
This would make giving away spoilers much easier, but Blundell is unconcerned by this, comparing the campaign to Netflix’s House of Cards. “If you see the end you’ll say, I need to understand this more,” Blundell said. “When Netflix release House of Cards with all the episodes, does everyone just jump to the end and go and play the last episode? Sure you can. But it’s about the journey, though, right?
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is available for pre-order on Flipkart for PC, PS4, Xbox One. PS3 and Xbox 360 will not come with a campaign mode and will only feature an online mode.
The Xbox One turned one this month and Microsoft India is celebrating its anniversary by announcing three new exciting Xbox One console bundles launching on October 2nd, 2015.
Xbox One Forza Motorsport 6 Limited Edition Console
The Forza Motorsport Edition is the first ever racing-inspired console from Xbox with iconic sports car styling and custom automotive sound effects. The bundle includes a 1TB hard drive, matching wireless controller with rubberized diamond grips, and a digital copy of Forza Motorsport 6 plus the Tenth Anniversary Car Pack which features spectacular cars, all for Rs. 39,990.
Forza Motorsport 6 has been praised for its visual design and graphical details.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBbXxfZYTAA
Xbox One 1TB EA Sports FIFA 16 Bundle,
In this bundle, you’ll get a full-game download of FIFA 16, three FIFA Ultimate Team Loan Legends, and one year of EA access. FIFA 16 boasts of spectacular gameplay with terrific graphics and also includes for the first time an all women’s team. “The bundle provides an improved experience gameplay across the pitch in FIFA 16, with more ways than ever to create moments of magic.”
Xbox One Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Bundle
This bundle comes with a 500 GB console, a wireless controller, a full digital game download of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. The Xbox One Gears of War console is priced at Rs. 34,999. Some other features include a 60 FPS competitive multiplayer experience with 19 maps and six game modes. Players who purchase the Ultimate Edition can participate in the multiplayer beta of Gears of War 4, which is set to be released in 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwbYhvlrQbc
Apart from these bundles, Amazon India is offering a minimum of 50 percent discount on select Xbox One games such as Halo, Forza 5, Call of Duty: Ghosts, WWE 2K15 valid till the 30th of September. So make the most of this anniversary and shop away.
“Games and gamers are at the center of everything we do and we’re always looking to offer the best ways to play on Xbox. With the launch of these bundles, we have taken into account the feedback that we received from our fans in India and added more storage to their consoles. This year, we’re delivering the greatest games lineup in Xbox history and we’re committed to delivering gamers the experiences and value they can’t find on any other platform.” said Anshu Mor, Director Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft India.
A new Xbox One is soon to come with a Windows 10 upgrade. Microsoft announced a redesign to the Xbox One dashboard that promises fast, easy-to-use experience. The Xbox One Experience will be available to members of the preview program over the course of this week.
Participants of the preview will get to test out the console so as to provide a feedback to the Xbox team on the Xbox One’s new UI, which is still “a work-in-progress”. Here’s an eight-minute video of Microsoft’s Larry Hryb and Richard Irvine of the Xbox engineer team providing a detailed look at the consoles new design.
Some of the major features of this new UI are a cleaner home page, faster access to essential apps such as Friends, Parties, Messages and Notifications, and an emphasis on vertical placement. It also appears that Microsoft is moving away from the tiled interface that was introduced with the Xbox One.
Another major feature is Cortana. Microsoft’s Kinect system will get a big upgrade which will provide a whole new experience of gaming where you can start a party and invite friends or record videos all without lifting a finger. So you can say “Hey Cortana, record the last minute and share it to my activity feed” and she will publish a game clip straight away. However, it appears you will need to have a Kinect in order to let Cortana to work.
For existing Xbox One owners, the new update will be available sometime in November.
Origin Games has announced the release on their new title Rock band 4. This set has been published by Harmonix Music Systems with wireless controllers developed by Mad Catz, and have been exclusively made for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Two bundles are expected to release, one called the Rock Band 4 Guitar Bundle at Rs.13,990 and the Rock Band 4 Band-In-A-Box at Rs. 26,990.
The Rock Band 4 Guitar Bundle comes with the full version of the Rock Band 4 Game Software along with a wireless guitar controller. This wireless guitar controller is in the form of the Fender Stratocaster and comes with two sets of fret buttons, a silent strum bar, a whammy bar, and a redesigned tilt sensor for fail-proof Overdrive activation.
Rock Band 4 Band-In-A-Box, however, also comes with a full version of the Rock Band 4 Game Software, a wireless guitar controller, a wireless drum controller and an improved USB microphone. The wireless guitar controller is similar to the one in the Rock Band 4 Guitar Bundle, the wireless drum controller features a metal-plated kick pedal and velocity sensitive drum pads and the USB microphone is being termed as improved because it is completely new and features a 48 kHz quality audio, improved gain staging, and distortion prevention.
If you’re a real rock-star then this game also comes with freestyle guitar solos, a ‘sing for the moment’ feature, improved drum skills and allows you to work with a crowd thereby exhibiting all your entertaining skills right at home.
The official release is going to happen on the 6th of October 2015.
Good news for Dishonoredfans. Leading game distributor e-xpresshas launched the pre-orders for the Dishonored: Definitive Edition in India. Published by Bethesda Games, Dishonoredis an action-adventure game which follows Corvo Attano, a bodyguard-turned-assassin who is framed for murdering his employer.
The Definitive Edition was announced by developer Arkane Studios a few days ago during Bethesda’s presentation at the 2015 E3. The edition will contain a remastered version of the original game for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and all the downloadable content (DLC). The DLC will contain The Knife of Dunwalland The Brigmore Witches, along with Dunwall City Trials and Void Walker’s Arsenal.
Dishonored was released in 2012 to positive reviews and appeared on several “Best Games of 2012” lists.The game has been voiced by known actors such as Susan Sarandon, Carrie Fisher and Lena Heady, who are best known for acting in films and shows like Enchanted, Star Warsand Game of Thrones, respectively.
Dishonored: Definitive Edition is now available for pre-order at Rs. 2,999 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. To order your game copy now, click here.
At the ongoing E3 2015 at Los Angeles, Microsoft has announced a ton of goodies for its fans. The company announced hundreds of older Xbox 360 games that will also be compatible with the newer Xbox One console. As a cherry on the cake, Microsoft revealed a new Xbox controller, and it is definitely a beast in its own terms.
Described as the ‘Elite Controller for Elite gamers’, the new Xbox One Elite Wireless Controller has been added with many new features. The analog sticks and directional pad can be swapped out with different grips — concave, convex, textured, or whichever accessory creators come up with.
There are spots on the bottom for paddles, mostly for hardcore racing gamers, and every button can be remapped and reset using a companion smartphone app that will be released for Xbox One and Windows 10. You can even control the sensitivity level of the triggers on the back and analog sticks. The new hair trigger locks for the analog triggers are designed for shooters. It looks like a polished variant of the original controller, with a layer of customisability added to it.
The Elite Wireless Controller comes out in October and is priced at $150 (Rs 9,623 approx.)
Today, the annual video game conference, the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) kicked off at Los Angeles where viewers were allowed to have a sneak peek of upcoming A-Class video games. Among the many trailers shown today was Beatbuddy. Game developer, THREAKS, announced that Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians will be coming to three consoles in the coming months: WiiU, Xbox One and the new NVIDIA Shield Android console, which released in the US a couple of weeks ago.
The game will take place across six diverse worlds where you control the little blob as he navigates through the colorful madness. It is like a rhythmic puzzle. The game was initially launched on Steam and iOS for Windows, Mac, iPad and iPhone and sold more than 700,000 copies worldwide. Beatbuddy combines puzzle solving and defeating the enemy by exploring different areas. The game won the Best Youth Game Awards in 2014.
The soundtrack of the game is composed by some of the big names in the music industry such as Austin Wintory, Parov Stelar, Sabre Pulse and the La Rochelle Band. The game is available only on SHEILD devices through the Google Playstore for $5.99 (Rs 361.61). But we will have to wait for the Android console to hit the Indian markets.
You can check out the trailer below. It strongly reminds us of Rayman; what do you guys think?
Payday is a cooperative first shooter game developed by Overkill Software and published by 505 Games. This game launched its second edition, namely, Payday 2 Crimewave Edition, for PS4 and Xbox One today.
The game consists of a variety of ‘heists’ that can be carried out by the player, either by choosing AI allies or as a part of a multiplayer game. Heists include robbing banks, rigging an election or drug trafficking. This game mostly emphasises on stealth, from which you can earn bonus points and money on completion.
In PayDay2, you get to pull heists and robbery at a whole new level. New contacts include The Dentist (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad) and the Butcher (voiced by Mira Furlon of Lost and Babylon 5 fame). Additional jobs and multi-stage contracts are included with an enormous variety of new weapons like shotguns, sniper rifles and grenade launchers.
The new edition is loaded with DLC packs and content updates like the Big Bank Heist, which is worth for over a year. You can also play as ‘Clover’, the first female heister. Overall, the game is promised with improved frame rate, better texture and 1080p resolution.
The new game also brings in new characters, more masks and a whole new level of customization. The game will be available on all leading retail and e-commerce stores and is priced at Rs 3,499. A perfect game for all players who are looking forward to pulling off their dream crime spree.
